BIOGRAPHY
Schuyler Tsuda graduated from Gonzaga University in 2002 majoring in composition, guitar performance and music education, earning him two Bachelor of Arts degrees in music. In 2006, he received his Master’s of Music degree in composition from the University of Hawai’i. Schuyler Tsuda has studied composition with James Dillon, Doug Geers, Alex Lubet, Donald Reid Womack, Takeo Kudo, Byron Yasui and Kevin Waters and has studied electronic music under the instruction of James Hearon and Nathan Wolek. He has studied privately with Iancu Dumitrescu, Ana-Maria Avram and Kaija Saariaho.
Schuyler Tsuda’s most recent performances include Spectrum XXI 2008: Third International Festival of Spectral Music, the Hyperion Ensemble Concert in 2008, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival: Creative Dialogue Concert in 2008, the SEAMUS National Conference in 2008, the Spark Festival in 2008 and the Electronic Music Midwest Festival in 2007.
Schuyler Tsuda has been a champion of new music, promoting the works of new composers as founder and organizer of composer/artist groups including his Benders and Hackers Group—a group of experimental performing artists from various branches of music, art and science who build and modify electronic instruments. He has recently been appointed vice president of the multi-disciplinary arts organization, Arts Quarter Collective, at the University of Minnesota.
In addition to his work in the world of contemporary art music, Schuyler Tsuda has scored numerous films and is a filmmaker in his own right. As a film composer, he has had screenings at the Hawai’i International Film Festival in 2005 and won a Bronze Remi award with his production team at the Houston International Film Festival in the same year. As a filmmaker, he won a Gold Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2007 and had screenings at the Bearded Child Film Festival in 2007 and 2008.
Schuyler Tsuda’s current musical interests involve creating new sound worlds through experimentation and discovery of unorthodox instrumental techniques, physical instrument extension, and instrument invention. Schuyler Tsuda is continuing his work and research as a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota.